


The Snow Project

by MoonlightShines (Thatkillervibe)



Series: Killervibe Week 2018 [3]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: 2004, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon, Canon Compliant, Cookies, Flashpoint regrets, Gen, KillerVibe - Freeform, Killervibe Week, Killervibe Week 2018, Post Season 4, Sickfic, This fic isn't ship heavy, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, really strong on the friendships here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 18:12:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15006506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatkillervibe/pseuds/MoonlightShines
Summary: Barry and Cisco take a trip to 2004 and get Snowed in.No, it wasn't Winter. Yes, that was a pun.Killervibe Day 3: Time Travelling.





	The Snow Project

**Author's Note:**

> I'm having WAY too much fun with killervibe week. I had a lot of fun with this one, it sort of wrote itself.

Cisco was in the middle of sketching a prototype for the Quantum Electric Multiplier Gun when Barry sped into the Cortex. 

“Hey,” Barry said, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Cisco looked at his garbage drawing and gladly pushed it away. “Yeah. What’s up?”

“Joe just told me about a really puzzling meta case at CCPD.”

Cisco looked intrigued. “Why is it so puzzling?”

Barry’s face lit up. “So this pedestrian, Nolan Fisher, about 50 years old, gets into a car accident, right? He was walking across the street with his eyes glued to his phone so he didn’t realize he was walking into ongoing traffic.”

“Okay…”

“Get this,” Barry said, getting all excited. “He loses an arm!”

Cisco’s mouth dropped in horror, “That’s terrible!”

“No, it isn’t!” Barry objected, “Because he gets in the ambulance and the paramedics realize they can just,” Barry made a funny gesture with his hands, “ _Pop!_ Attach his arm back where it was just like that! No blood no nothing! Just like that he gained complete motion of his arm!”

“ _What?_ ” Cisco screeched. “You mean like a mannequin?” Cisco paused. “Mr. Mannequin, that’s a good one.”

“Uh huh,” Barry nodded, “And it gets crazier. This guy claims he had this from  _birth_. And not just that, his whole  _family_  can do it. His mother, father, maternal cousin…”

Cisco frowned, “But how is that possible? Metas only started appearing due to the particle accelerator or Devoe’s bus metas.”

“And the similarity in both were the dark matter,” Barry agreed. “But this guy’s medical tests show none.”

“There are more metas out there,” Cisco said. It’s not a question. It would’ve been, two years ago, but not anymore. Not since Cisco vibed with Caitlin her repressed memory where she had turned into Killer Frost as a kid. Caitlin asked him not to tell anyone, so he hadn’t. He kept quiet, but now he wondered if maybe he should be speaking up.

Barry threw his hands in the air, “Maybe there were other types of metas this whole time!” He looked around the room, realizing it was quieter than usual. Ralph was away in Wisconsin but… “Wait, where’s Caitlin?”

Cisco sighed, “She’s sick. She caught a cold so she’s staying home.”

“Okay,” Barry said slowly, and you could tell he was calculating something in his mind. “Okay, that’s good actually.”

Cisco scrunched up his face in confusion. “You want Caitlin to be sick? That’s not being a good friend…”

“No, there’s a reason.”

Barry sat down next to Cisco and explained to him that apparently there was a doctor who researched into the possibility of superpowered humans about seventeen years ago with several examples. It was pretty much ignored by academia and dismissed as a joke paper, buried away. It was obvious however, based off descriptions of abilities, that one of them was a relative of Nolan Fisher. The problem? The contact information on the file was an old phone number and home address for the doctor, which was great. Except for the fact the research was published posthumously after the doctor’s long battle with multiple sclerosis.

“Who was the doctor?” Cisco asked.

Barry looked down at the brown folder. He opened it, then silently slid the papers across the table to Cisco.

Dr. Ethan Snow.

Cisco’s eyes widened. “Caitlin’s  _dad?_ ”

“Yeah. Does Caitlin ever talk about him?”

“No,” Cisco admitted, “I know his death hit her hard, though. It inspired her to become a doctor, but it was also the driving force that put a wedge in the relationship Caitlin had with her mom.”

Barry worried his bottom lip into his mouth, giving Cisco a  _look_.

Cisco knew where this was going.

“You want to go back in time and meet him, don’t you?”

Barry at least had the audacity to look sheepish. “Before you freak out, I asked Jay Garrick. If we meet him several months before he dies, Jay says us being there shouldn’t have much impact if we’re careful.”

Cisco mulled it over. He was still stunned. Caitlin’s  _dad_. That was really interesting. It seemed too coincidental, for this to not have anything to do with Killer Frost. The more he thought about it, the more bothered he got. If Caitlin’s father knew about her, he should’ve  _told_  her. Maybe it could’ve helped, if Caitlin was prepared…

“I’m in,” Cisco said. “But we’re not telling Cait.”

Barry nodded, clearly in agreement, “I know you don’t want to keep secrets from her, but I think that’s the wisest choice.”

Cisco started to get excited. He heard all of Barry’s adventures from time travelling and after the Flashpoint fiasco. Unless he quit Team Flash and joined the Legends, he always thought it was something he’d never get to experience.

Cisco took a deep breath. “When do we leave?”

 

~.~

 

It’s 2004, and the first thing Cisco does is pull a Diggle and puke into a public garbage can.

“I’m sorry man,” Barry said apologetically as Cisco gagged.

It took a minute for Cisco’s stomach to settle. “I’m usually good with your speed travels but we were going _really_  fast.”  

Barry found a map somehow and located Caitlin’s old home address. They were using the face morphing tech made for H.R. so to not alter anything should they run into Caitlin.

Hopefully they won’t. It’s the middle of the day and she should be in middle school.

Cisco flexed his fingers and opened a breach. They ended up right in front of Caitlin’s house.

To use the word house was being modest. It was a mansion.

They both took a minute to soak it in.

 Cisco whistled softly, “Damn, I knew Caitlin’s family had money but this house is…”

“Bitchin?” Barry joked, nudging him forward, “Come on, let’s go.”

They rang the doorbell and a middle aged nurse opened the door. Barry told her they’re visitors for Dr. Snow and the nurse beamed delightedly.

“It’s been a long time since he’s gotten any visitors from young people like you. Sickness scares people away, you know. It’s a shame, really. How about I go for my lunch and leave you with him for an hour? He’s having a good day. If you need anything, you can ask Meyrielle, the cleaning lady. She’s in the basement. Mr. Snow is in the living room.”

She stopped after she grabbed her purse.

“Who did you say you were, again?”

“We used to work with him when we were residents,” Cisco made up on the spot.

“Oh, that’s nice!” The nurse gave them another sunny smile and left.

Barry and Cisco shared a look. That was ridiculously easy.

They walked down the luxurious hallways with mahogany wooden floors and walls lined with what looked like expensive original paintings.

“Dr. Snow has an interesting taste of interior design,” Cisco mumbled as they made their way to the living room.

Barry knocked on the side of the door and peered in.

There was Dr. Snow, the  _Mister_ Dr. Snow, on the couch watching television.

Cisco marvelled. Caitlin looked a lot like him. He was very thin in places people only were when they were chronically sick, and he hunched over himself in an awkward angle. But he still had a full head thick of Caitlin’s brown hair. They had the same complexion, and a very similar face shape as well. A wheelchair was next to him and there were many pills in a pouch on the adjacent coffee table. Cisco was rather surprised, he was bracing for him to appear a lot worse.

“Hello, Dr. Snow? I’m Barry Allen and this is Cisco Ramon. We came to ask you some questions about something sensitive regarding your research and we were wondering if you had the moment to talk with us about it.”

Dr. Snow perked up immediately. “Oh, I’d love to discuss medicine with you. I miss practicing.”

Barry glanced at Cisco who nodded. They agreed to just go ahead and tell him everything. The man only had two months left to live and it was unlikely he would deny their story if Barry and Cisco could show him their powers to prove it.

“Bear with us,” Cisco warned, “This is going to sound crazy.”

Barry retold the entire tale. The time travelling, him being struck by lightning due to the particle accelerator explosion, his job at CCPD, Star Labs, The Flash and being best friends with Caitlin. Finally, Barry asked about the Fisher case and what Dr. Snow thought about genetic and hereditary powers.

Dr. Snow listened carefully throughout and explained his theory of mutant genes being a genetic possibility for having powers from birth.

“You mean like the X-Men?”

Dr. Snow nodded. “Maybe Stan Lee’s comics aren’t so fantastical after all. I believe although rare, there might have been…Metahumans as you say…Since the beginning of time.”

Barry was leaning forward absorbing every word that came out of Dr. Snow’s mouth, reminding Cisco a lot of how he used to act around evil Wells.

“How on Earth did you get so involved with this?” Barry wondered outloud.

Something twisted in Cisco’s gut. No matter how awesome Caitlin’s dad seemed, he was still hiding this from his daughter. How could he say all of this to two people he just met but not to Caitlin, who  _should_ know?

“Because of Caitlin!” Cisco blurted out, and Barry turned to Cisco, wide-eyed.

Dr. Snow was so shocked he began to cough and he shouted out in pain.

“I know that you know about Caitlin’s secret,” Cisco confided. “I understand you want to protect your daughter, but keeping her in the dark about this isn’t a good idea—”

“That’s enough, Cisco,” Barry cut him off, immediately apologizing to Dr. Snow, and tending to his side.

“I’m fine boys,” Dr. Snow waved off, but Barry asked Cisco to get him some water from the kitchen anyways.

“Please, let’s keep this secret between us,” he requested, his voice a little hoarse, as Cisco left the room.

Cisco was glad for the excuse to leave. Being here felt wrong. He was sorry he came. Cisco had to do something. He could feel it in his bones, there’s no way that he could leave 2004 without altering the timeline in some way. He realized these were a dying man’s last wishes to respect, but it also went completely against everything he stood for when it came to Caitlin: Doing what was best for her.

Cisco had his hand on the fridge handle when footsteps went thundering down the stairs.

Cisco froze.

A young girl shy of fifteen made her way through the house. She wore blue jean shorts and a yellow spaghetti tank. Her hair was in a ponytail and she looked downright frazzled.

It was Caitlin. Oh god. It was fourteen year old Caitlin. Cisco couldn’t breathe.

“Daddy?” She called, rushing past Cisco so fast she didn’t even notice a stranger was in her kitchen.

“Daddy are you okay, what’s the matter?”

Cisco could hear Dr. Snow reassuring her from the living room that he was alright but it was clear she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

It went quiet for a while, undoubtedly her father and Barry diverting questions about who Barry was and what he was doing.

“I’m getting you water,” she informed, and marched into the kitchen.

Cisco knew he was wearing a different face but he still felt utterly exposed.

“Why are there  _two_ strangers in my house?” Young Caitlin snapped.

“I’m also visiting,” Cisco told her.

She opened a cupboard for a glass. Cisco opened the fridge and handed her a water bottle, trying not to stare at her like a creep.

He glanced at the time on their fancy electrical stove. “Shouldn’t you be at school?”

Caitlin’s face was very matter of fact as she poured the water from the bottle into the glass. She added some vitamin tablets and said, “I can stay home sometimes when Dad is having a good day. We don’t know how many of those he’ll have left.”

“You don’t seem to be the type to miss school,” he couldn’t help but say. Caitlin,  _his_  Caitlin, who managed an MD and two PhDs in what…? Five years? She must’ve skipped some grades in high school. Cisco skipped two. That rigorous work ethic made even taking an early dismissal for a dentist appointment in eighth grade sound impossible.

Caitlin shrugged, “I don’t mind not going as long as I get the homework.”

Ah yes, there she is.

Caitlin continued, “Besides, there’s this girl, Lexi, she torments me at school for who knows why. Why would I want to spend my days there when I can be with my dad, right?”

No wonder Caitlin didn’t talk much about her life before college. This all just seemed so sad.

Cisco rested his chin on the palm of his hand and leaned his elbow against the marble counter, fascinated by this version of his best friend.

“You seem like a smart girl. What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Caitlin lit up, “A zoologist!”

Cisco snorted. The glare Caitlin shot him was a fetus compared to some of the ones he receives at Star Labs now.

“What about a doctor?” Cisco asked.

“Eh,” She sounded disinterested, “we’ve got enough Dr. Snows around here. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to give this to Dad.”

Cisco watched Caitlin go.

Barry walked into the kitchen as Caitlin walked out. He swerved around her awkwardly in the doorway looking down at her and then up at Cisco repeatedly mouthing out  _Cait!?!_  and  _So Freaky!_ accompanied with many weirded out facial expressions.

“I got what I needed,” Barry said out loud, pulling out a high stool from the kitchen island to sit on.

“That’s great,” Cisco told him, sounding a little flat.

“I’m really confused,” Barry admitted,  “How does Dr. Snow know  _anything_  about KF?”

Cisco took a deep breath. “I vibed it with her the day we defeated DeVoe. It turns out…Caitlin’s first encounter with KF in fact happened four years ago, as in 2000. Not 2017,” he whispered. “She’s been repressing the memory.”

Barry’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head, “What the hell?”

“He  _knows_  Barry, he knew this entire time and just let her go on by herself. He could’ve at least told her mother!” Cisco was so anguished. Barry patted his shoulder sympathetically.

“It sounds like he’s trying to do the right thing, and I’m sure he has his reasons. He  _really_  doesn’t want her to be burdened with this fear. Can’t you imagine how scary that would be for a teenager?”

Cisco knew to some extent that Barry was right. Still, it didn’t sit well with him. It would be so easy to fix it all right there and then. If Killer Frost is triggered psychologically, wouldn’t being mentally prepared for her arrival actually work to keep her at bay?

“Can’t we do  _something?_ ”

Barry sighed. He got up quickly, looked left and right and then flashed Cisco out the house.

Barry started scolding Cisco in front of the Snow’s peonies.

“You  _know_  the answer to that already. We should be going. Now.”

“Please, Barry,” Cisco pleaded, “She’s had so much pain in her life. What if we could change that?”

“You’re not getting it,” Barry cried, “It’s  _because_  of me time travelling to try and save my mom that I screwed up the timeline! If it wasn’t for my interference, Caitlin never would’ve been Killer Frost to begin with!”

“And if we don’t do something now, she’ll run away terrified of Killer Frost in sixteen years because we kept our mouths shut instead of helping our best friend!”

“Anything dealing with Killer Frost is too risky!”

“Maybe it’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Cisco replied stubbornly.

Barry crossed his arms across his chest.

“Like Dante?”

The hurt on Cisco’s face was so evident Barry could’ve slapped him and it wouldn’t have looked any different.

“I’m sorry,” Barry apologized genuinely.

Cisco sat down in the grass, stunned into silence.

“That’s what happens when you tamper with fixed events,” Barry explained softly, ridding the patronizing tone from his voice this time.

“I know how much you care about Caitlin,” he continued, “I should’ve known this would be incredibly hard for you to stand back and watch. I shouldn’t have asked you to come with me.”

“I wanted to see a slice of Caitlin’s life when I assumed would’ve been a happier time. But when I spoke to her…She’s had it so hard, man. Since the beginning. All I can think about when I’m in this house is how she’s going to lose her father and then she’s going to fall out with her mom and then she’s going to lose Ronnie and her career. Her entire life has been like this.”

Barry kicked some fancy fertilized dirt. “I know.”

“I just wish we could do  _something_.”

“I know,”  Barry said again.

Cisco squinted at the 2004 sky. “Hey,” he said, an idea forming in the back of his mind as a Ferrari blasting Usher’s  _Yeah!_  drove by. “Maybe we can.”

 

~.~

 

They went back inside. They waited for Caitlin to go to the bathroom for Cisco to apologize. He promised Dr. Snow he’d keep the secret for Caitlin to find out—-If she ever does—In 2018 and not 2004. They also showed him some pictures of Team Flash and _their_ Caitlin from their phones and reassured him that, all in all, Caitlin was happy and successful. He should be proud.

Dr. Snow brushed away tears, eternally grateful.

He really was a nice man. Cisco had to turn away for a moment to collect his emotions. If only Caitlin could have one more moment with him. Cisco shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He couldn’t even tell her about it.

They waved goodbye to Caitlin as she returned with blankets and snacks to cuddle up with her father and watch a VHS.

“Hey,” Cisco said to Caitlin, who looked up from the television to him.

“Don’t give up, okay? Promise?”

Young Caitlin smiled a little, intrigued if not slightly confused.

“Promise the young man,” Dr. Snow nudged at his daughter, teasing her.

“…I Promise?”

Cisco hid his smile. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”

They left the house as the nurse came back from her lunch. “Aww, leaving already?” She pouted.

“Yeah, we’re pressed for time,” Barry told her, and they quickened their paces down the Snows cobblestone walkway.

“Come again!” The nurse called cheerfully.

 

~.~

 

Central City East Middle School was just beginning their after school cheerleading practice when Cisco breached right in front of Lexi Laroche and her stupid clique gossiping under the bleachers.

The girls all screamed.

“Hi!” Cisco enthused, “Which one of you little snakes is Lexi Laroche?”

The leader of the group stood up on wobbly legs. “Me.”

“I’m a superhero from the future,” Cisco said, “And I got informed that you bully Caitlin Snow.”

Lexi Laroche turned white. “I wouldn’t call it bullying…” She stammered. How quaint, Cisco thought, she had a French accent to accompany the French last name.

Cisco threw a vibe blast at a soccer ball. All of the air exploded out of the ball. The girls jumped, then huddled together. “Yeah,” Cisco said sarcastically, “And I wouldn’t call that exploding a soccer ball with my bare hands.”

Lexi gulped.

“This is what’s going to happen. You’re going to read this pamphlet about the dangers of bullying. It has a whole list of ugly things nobody wants to be called or have done to, but guess what? You did those. And you said that. There are far better things to do with your life. Like, say, expand your wardrobe beyond hot pink Juicy Couture sweatpants and bubblegum pink tube tops.”

Cisco pulled out the bullying pamphlet Barry snatched from the school’s guidance counsellor’s office from his Vibe jacket and gave it to her.

“Next, you’re going to apologize and then stay away from Caitlin. I don’t want to see you behaving despicably like that to Caitlin or any other girl. Is that clear?”

Lexi Laroche nodded her head so fast she looked like a bobble head.

Cisco put his hands on his hips, satisfied. He seemed to have caught their attention well enough. He didn’t want to traumatize them.

“Good.” He opened a breach. “Bye!”

~.~

Barry brought them back to 2018.

As soon as Barry was certain Cisco wasn’t going to get dizzy and faint, he went straight to CCPD with his new information.

On the other hand, Cisco breached to a certain sick friend’s apartment.

Cisco walked down the hall towards Caitlin’s room. The lights were shut off and she was fast asleep.

He turned on her bedside table lamp and knelt on the floor next to her sleeping form. He whispered for her to wake up, placing a hand on her forehead.

No fever, that’s good.

She opened an eye and mumbled a groggy hello at Cisco. He waited for her to get her bearings and sit up in her bed. Cisco would’ve normally sat on her bed if she was injured or upset in the past, but she’s sick and he really doesn’t want her germs so he pulled up a chair instead.

“How are you feeling?”

Caitlin swallowed purposely and blinked a few more times, obviously attempting to come up with an adequate self-evaluation. “Better.”

“Good to hear,” Cisco threw a paper bag onto her lap.

She raised an eyebrow. “What’s this?”

Cisco bounced in his seat, “Just open it!”

Caitlin emptied the bag and out fell a box of cookies.

Caitlin gasped, “ _Choco-Hearties!?_ I thought they don’t make these anymore! Cisco!!” She slapped at his arm excitedly, “These were my favorite cookies growing up. How did you find them?”

Caitlin busied herself with opening the flaps and stuffed two in her mouth right away.

“I don’t even care that this hurts my throat,” she mumbled happily around her mouthful.

Cisco laughed, very much proud of his accomplishment. Also very glad that Caitlin was still too tired to notice Cisco blacked out the 2005 expiry date.

“Hey,” Cisco said casually, three Brooklyn-Nine-Nine episodes later. Caitlin was getting drowsy and her cookie box was three-thirds eaten. Cisco tried one and he too now understood why she wrote a letter of complaint to the company thay discontinued them in ninth grade. Good thing he bought two more packages.

Caitlin hummed in response.

“I ran into one of my childhood bullies today, it reminded me of what you said about that girl who put gum in your hair, what was her name? Alexis?”

Caitlin yawned. “Lexi? I wouldn't call her a childhood bully, per se. She picked on me for a few months in eighth grade and then stopped bothering me. I heard she moved to France…Cisco I’m sorry but I’m really tired.” 

Cisco ran his hand through her hair and tried to keep the silly grin out of his voice. “That’s alright. You sleep. I’ll check on you tomorrow.”

FIN.


End file.
